Force carbing by the book but still flat

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Alright this is my first time kegging and using the quick force carb method. I tried on method that I found on a brew website that had me turning the PSI up to about 18-20 and rolling the keg every 5min for about an hour. Reducing the pressure to serving pressure and boom off to the races. That resulted in flat beer. Tried another method that had me setting the PSI to about 30 and rolling/shacking the keg for 2min and then waiting about 20min to allow the beer to absorb the Co2 before burping the keg and should be done. Still flat beer.
I hear bubbling and hissing and everything the books and videos say I should hear and still the beer is flat. When pouring there is some bubbling in the glass but I think its just oxygenating as it comes out of the tube, only lasts about a min and then there is just flat beer in a glass.
Its an AirGas 20lb Carbon Dioxide bottle that was switched out by the person I bought it off of. Is there a chance possible thats not the right stuff of maybe AirGas filled it incorrectly?
I'm sure its user error but WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?????
:confused::confused:
 
at 30 PSI, you'll have to shake VIGEROUSLY for 2 minutes, Donkey Kong style! You didn't say, but I'm guessing the beer is at serving temperature? if so, just keep shaking, and yes, let it rest for a bit, off pressure.
 
at 30 PSI, you'll have to shake VIGEROUSLY for 2 minutes, Donkey Kong style! You didn't say, but I'm guessing the beer is at serving temperature? if so, just keep shaking, and yes, let it rest for a bit, off pressure.

Agreed...... You need to bump up that pressure, cool the keg, and shake the s**t out of it for a minute or two..... You will have carbonated beer in 24 hours.....
 
ALWAY PERGE KEG AS SOON AS YOU HOOK UP GAS,BEFORE ROLLING ANYTHING
First off the beer needs to be cold to absorb the 02.You didn't mention if it was.
Second- your not going to get "perfect" beer in 2 minutes of shaking.Sounds good in theory,just never seems to happen.
What I do: Chill to serving temp BEFORE doing anything.Crank o2 to 30 psi,roll around for a minute or two.Let it sit for a while roll it around again.Leave it on 30 psi for 24 to 30 hours,Drop psi to serving pressure.It will still be a bit off up or down but will get better with every passing day.I always pull a semi flat beer or two while shaking,because I need a homebrew while working with homebrew
 
I pressurize to 30 pounds, shake it a little, keep it on the gas, close the refrigerator and leave it for 24 -36 hours. Lower to serving pressure and test it. If still too flat I re-pressurize it for a while longer.

It will carbonate a lot better at serving temperature, also.

The easiest is to connect the keg at serving pressure 8-13 pounds and wait a couple of weeks. This assumes that you have another one to drink in the mean time.
 
Make sure you don't have a leak somewhere.

If you have quick disconnects, connect the gas to to the beer out (black) connector. Vent and hit it with 30 pounds of gas every hour or so. You'll have overcarbed beer before you know it.
 
Did you by any chance over fill the keg (beer level above the straight side walls of the keg)? If so, you have less surface area exposed to the CO2 and absorption will be slower. Also, did you pressurize and vent for at least 5 cycles to get the air (esp the O2) out of the keg before any shaking? If not, the CO2 pressure will be less than it is supposed to be (as some of the pressure is supplied by air), leading to lower carbonation levels. Not purging the air can lead to oxidation over time, and shaking an unpurged keg will greatly accelerate the oxidation. And, as others have asked, was the beer cold when you tried to burst carbonate it?

Personally, I avoid any of the shaking methods of burst carbing. I cool to serving temp, purge & pressurize to 30 psi for 36 hrs, then vent and set to 10-12 psi. I have at least some drinkable (if not optimal) carbonation a day later.

Edit: Another thought, what is your beer tubing inner diameter and length? Improper tubing ID and/or length can cause foaming and loss of carbonation in the beer when pouring. Guy in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=540852 thought he wasn't getting carbonation either, but turned out he had borked beer lines.

Brew on :mug:
 
Good advice given, just don't try to shake full kegs unless you want to play hulk. Lay it on its side on a towel with the gas post UP and gas connected at 30 psi (even 40 if you want), and roll back and forth for 5 minutes. You can "hear" it absorb. You'll know when it's done.
 
Good replies guys thanks

The beer was chilled to serving temp and I did purg the O2 out of them. One may have been a little full but after pouring multiple beers it should be at the right level now.
Left one hooked up to the co2 last night at 30psi and it has carbed a little but no where close to what I thought it would be so will try rolling again.
With rolling some say roll with the air line on top some say on the bottom. Differences and why?
I have a party this weekend and need 2 kegs to be ready by Saturday afternoon and was suppose to be out of town today and tomorrow thus the quick carbing, but have some time now to sort it out.
 
Just leaving it hooked up to 30psi will take a week or longer as diffusion is slow. Rolling is the key, as the gas absorbs into the larger beer surface being presented, until an equilibrium establishes. If that keg is cold, it will absorb more CO2 and quicker.

Gas line up. You don't want beer to seep into your gas line, although I've had a few drops getting in there occasionally. I use a long line especially for that purpose, and it's force-rinsed out, Starsan-ed and dried whenever any beer made it in there, ready for next use. I force carbonated 3 kegs that way last week. Perfect carbonation after letting it settle for a day.
 
Rolling is the key, as the gas absorbs into the larger beer surface being presented, until an equilibrium establishes. If that keg is cold, it will absorb more CO2 and quicker.

Thanks. About how long were you rolling them for?
 
About 5-10 minutes, a bit past when the regulator stops groaning, and no more gas goes into the keg. You should be able to hear it streaming in, at 30 psi. After 5 minutes, you could let it lay there for a few minutes, roll again and see if it picks up more. The action is a good deliberate rolling/rocking back and forth with a firm grip. about 40-60° each way from the 12 o'clock point (gas QD). You can hear the beer sloshing.

I dry hop the same way with a tight muslin bag that lets no hop dust through. There are marbles in it for weight.
 
Wow... a lot of not the same advise here. Please allow me to f**k this thread up a little bit too. Chilled keg on its side, gas post up. Crank to 25 - 30 psi. Roll back and forth with foot. Do not stop or pause.

2 minutes = slightly above flat beer
2 1/2 minutes = perfect!
3 minutes = glass full of foam
 
Chill the keg to 40F. Set gas to 12-15psi. Let it sit 5 days at those settings and check it to see how it's doing.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. Nothing worked and eventually got the tank tested. The tank was bought off craigslist full of what the guy thought was Co2, turns out it was draft gas (testing from InBev confirmed this) so that's why I was getting a good head but no carbonation.
Does anyone know if this beer can be saved?
 
Thanks for all the good advice. Nothing worked and eventually got the tank tested. The tank was bought off craigslist full of what the guy thought was Co2, turns out it was draft gas (testing from InBev confirmed this) so that's why I was getting a good head but no carbonation.
Does anyone know if this beer can be saved?

Just vent it and carbonate with CO2.
 
Alright this is my first time kegging and using the quick force carb method. I tried on method that I found on a brew website that had me turning the PSI up to about 18-20 and rolling the keg every 5min for about an hour. Reducing the pressure to serving pressure and boom off to the races. That resulted in flat beer. Tried another method that had me setting the PSI to about 30 and rolling/shacking the keg for 2min and then waiting about 20min to allow the beer to absorb the Co2 before burping the keg and should be done. Still flat beer.
I hear bubbling and hissing and everything the books and videos say I should hear and still the beer is flat. When pouring there is some bubbling in the glass but I think its just oxygenating as it comes out of the tube, only lasts about a min and then there is just flat beer in a glass.
Its an AirGas 20lb Carbon Dioxide bottle that was switched out by the person I bought it off of. Is there a chance possible thats not the right stuff of maybe AirGas filled it incorrectly?
I'm sure its user error but WHAT HAVE I DONE WRONG?????

:confused::confused:

I never shake my kegs. Lazy. Never seen the point.

I keg the beer when its cold ~32F

Purge headspace
30psi for 36-40 hours at ~35F
Burp keg and reduce to serving pressure (10-15 psi depending on style)
Works like a charm every time.

If you keg the beer warm and then do this you could probably go 48 hours at 30 psi.

There are faster ways but shaking will require time for the beer to settle out any debris. That can take days.

I can always plan to have a beer ready if needed in 3 days this way. Now that I have a decent pipeline going (got more kegs) I just set and forget while my beers lager/cold condition.

Shaking/rolling does work but is very technique sensitive. Overcarbonation is a real threat if done incorrectly. A major headache to rectify by all acounts.

Edit: just read further down. Beergas. Unhook gas line, vent when ready and do the above. No harm done.
 
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